The present invention relates to compositions for cleaning fabric articles, especially articles of clothing, linen and drapery, wherein the compositions provide improved cleaning of soils while providing excellent garment care for articles sensitive to water.
For the cleaning of fabric articles consumers currently have the choice of conventional laundry cleaning or dry cleaning.
Conventional laundry cleaning is carried out with relatively large amounts of water, typically in a washing machine at the consumer""s home, or in a dedicated place such as a coin laundry. Although washing machines and laundry detergents have become quite sophisticated, the conventional laundry process still exposes the fabric articles to a risk of dye transfer and shrinkage. Significant portions of fabric articles used by consumers are not suitable for cleaning in a conventional laundry process. Even fabric articles that are considered xe2x80x9cwashing machine safexe2x80x9d frequently come out of the laundry process badly wrinkled and require ironing.
Dry cleaning processes rely on non-aqueous solvents for cleaning. By avoiding water these processes minimize the risk of shrinkage and wrinkling, however, cleaning of soils, particularly water-based and alcohol-based soils is very limited with these processes. Typically, the dry-cleaner removes such soils by hand prior to the dry-cleaning process. These methods are complex, requiring a wide range of compositions to address the variety of stains encountered, very labor intensive and often result in some localized damage to the treated article.
Accordingly there is an unmet need, in commercial laundry, in dry-cleaning and in the home, for cleaning compositions, which simultaneously provide acceptable cleaning of across a variety of soils while remaining safe for a wide range of fabric articles.
Polymeric substituted oxiranes such as Polybutylene oxide polymers (BO) and polymers of higher molecular weight polyalkylene oxides, with or without hydrophilic substitution(s), aid soil removal for washing processes using lipophilic fluids, especially decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (known as xe2x80x9cD5xe2x80x9d), and formulation of products for use therein. Polyalkylene oxides have better cleaning and formulatability than conventional polyethylene oxide (POE) or polypropylene oxide (PPO)-based additives, which are not able to suspend or solubilize similar hydrophilic groups in lipophilic fluids. The polymers of this invention are in many cases potentially lower in cost than silicone-derived surfactants with similar solubility properties.
The present invention provides compositions which exhibit improved cleaning of soils from fabric articles, while maintaining excellent fabric care properties. The cleaning compositions comprise polyoxyalkylene polymers [polybutylene oxide or poly(methyl glycidyl ether)or polymers of higher molecular weight polyalkylene oxides or polymers of higher molecular weight glycidyl ethers], either unfunctionalized or functionalized with hydrogen bond donating or accepting substituent groups or other hydrophilic groups selected from the group consisting of alcohols, polyols, amines, polyamines, alkanolamines, ethoxylated and/or propoxylated amines, amides, ethoxylated and/or propoxylated amides, polyamides, urethanes and polyurethanes, oxyethylene, polyoxyethylenes, oxypropylene, polyoxypropylenes, carboxylic acids and salts, aminocarboxylates, amidocarboxylates, mono and diphosphate esters, phosphonates, aminophosphonates, monosulfates, sulfonates, amine oxides, quaternized amines, phosphine oxides, phenols, polyfunctional chelant groups,and combinations thereof.
The features and advantages of such cleaning compositions will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are by weight, unless otherwise specified. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius (xc2x0 C.) unless otherwise specified. All measurements are in SI units unless otherwise specified. All documents cited are in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference.